The tomb guardians awake to find the tomb is empty and one of their number is missing. Meanwhile the paintings they occupy are described by an anguished lecturer to a friend.
The two conversations overlap. One explores the artistic and political significance of these four portraits by Bernhard Strigel (1461-1528) from the dawn of Protestantism, the other thrashes out an excuse.
Author of Mr. Beethoven (The Goldsmiths Prize 2020 shortlist; The Walter Scott Prize 2021 and Republic of Consciousness Prize 2021 longlists), Paul Griffiths sustains this theme: the power of the imagination to unlock historical truth.